Safety latch for folding play yards



Feb. 22, 1955 P. v. ANDERSON 2,702,866 SAFETY LATCH FOR FOLDING PLAY YARDS Filed Apri l 15, 1954 INVENTOR. PAUL \Z ANDERSON United States Patent SAFETY LATCH son Forums PLAY YARDS Paul V. Anderson, Gardner, Mass, assignor to Gardner Tool & Stamping Company, Inc., Gardner, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 15, 1954, Serial No. 423,444

1 Claim. (Cl. 256-25) This invention relates to a new and improved safety latching means particularly adapted for the infolding sides of play-yards and the like hinged members. However, the invention is not limited to this particular application but may be used in any structure where found desirable.

in this type of device, it is particularly important to prevent the occupant of the play-yard from opening the latch, and the same time the latch must be easily operated by others for folding the structure; there must be no possibility of pinching the fingers, etc. and the latch in general must work quickly, easily, and safely.

The main object of the present invention resides in the provision of a. device as stated above and including spring means for holding the same in latched condition, it being necessary to provide a compound motion of the latch in order to release the same, but the latch is easily brought into latching condition with the same manual motion on the part of the operator as has always been used with the latches in the prior art.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a safety latch for play-yards and the like, the same being easily operated by an adult but not easily operated by a child in the play-yard, and including a cam slot for directing the latch to latched position and requiring a bodily motion of the latch itself against a spring to release the latch.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in front elevation in latched condition;

Fig. 2 is a section through the latch on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the latch open; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating the cam action of the latch during the latching operation.

In the drawings, the reference numerals 10 and 12 represent the adjacent articulated end members for the infolding sides of a play-yard, the same being joined by a hinge 14 as is well known in the art. When it is desired to fold the play-yard, the members 10 and 12 are moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2, and the latch is provided for holding the members in the extended condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As illustrated, the member 10 is provided with a headed element 16 which may be conventional, and cooperating with this headed element there is a swinging latch plate generally indicated at 18. This latch plate is pivotally mounted by means of a headed pin or the like indicated at 19 on the other member 12. The latch plate itself is formed with an outwardly extending closed channel indicated at 20. At one end, this channel may be provided with an indented portion 22 having a slot 24 therein accommodating the pin 19 for longitudinal sliding motion of the latch 18 as well as a swinging motion about the pin as an axis. The head of pin 19 holds the latch plate assembled to member 12.

Near the opposite end of the channel 20, there is proillustrating the latch vided an in-turned finger 26 and a spring 27 is attached to this finger and over the pin 19. This spring is a tension spring and its effect is to continuously draw the latch plate 18 to the right so that the pin 19 is normally located at the left-hand end of the slot 24.

The latch plate 18 is provided with a fiat end portion 23 having a transverse slot 39 extending inwardly from the lower edge of the plate and terminating in a lateral continuation thereof 32 for receiving the element 16 under the head thereof as shown in Fig. 2. The entrance of slot 30 is provided at its left-hand side with a cam surface 34 leading upwardly at an angle to the slot.

The slot 24 and the extension 32 allow the entire latch plate to be moved longitudinally even though guided rectilinearly on the pin 19 and element 16. The spring tends to hold the parts latched as shown in Fig. l, but with a very simple and easy motion of a finger, the operator moves the latch plate 13 against the action of the spring to the left to position the element 16 in alignment with the slot 39, whereupon the latch may be swung upwardly completely releasing the members 16 and 12, see Fig. 3.

in order to re-latch members 113 and 12 together, it is merely necessary to bring the latch plate down in a swinging counter-clockwise motion as seen in the drawing. The element 16 will be engaged by the cam surface 34 and this will move the entire latch to the left to align slot 361 with element 16. Of course as soon as the fastener 16 is aligned with extension 32 of slot 36, the spring serves to move the latch plate to the right and locate the element 16 at the left end of the extension 32, and this is the latched relationship of the parts as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

it will. be seen that this invention provides a latch which is very easily operated by an adult but is almost impossible to operate by the infant within the play-pen. The spring 2'7 does not exert a great deal of pressure, and therefore the operator may place the thumb as on the channel 241 to position to push upwardly and to the left, to release the latch. The channel in this case acts in the nature of a fingenhold as well as a concealing and protective housing for the spring 27 Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, 1 do not Wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

Latch for securing two hinged members in aligned condition comprising a pin on one member and a swinging latch plate on the other member, said latch plate being elongated, a headed pivot adjacent one end thereof swingingly securing the latch plate to the other member, an edge slot in the latch plate adjacent the other member thereof, an angle in the slot, the pin being receivable in the slot and lodged in the angle, a cam edge on the plate in position to engage the pin as the latch plate is swung down on the pin with the members aligned, said cam leading to the slot, an indented longitudinal slot providing longitudinally sliding motion of the latch plate due to the cam edge, said headed pivot having its head in the indentation, resilient means constantly urging the cam plate in a direction to hold the same with the pin in the angle, said latch plate being fiat and swingingly flatly engaging the side surface of said other member, a channel in said latch plate extending outwardly of the said other member and from one end of the plate to a point closely adjacent the edge slot, said channel being closed toward the side opposite the members and open at the side facing the members, said resilient means being wholly concealed in the channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 213,703 Steele Mar. 25, 1879 455,149 Ayers June 30, 1891 2,670,932 Westerfors Mar. 2, 1954 

